Toronto’s Auston Matthews strikes at a pace that no other player in the world can do, writes Sport’s NHL journalist Tommi Seppälä.
Toronto Mitch Marner rolls the puck along the gutter behind the goal, making the Columbus defender Dean Kukan leave Auston Matthewsin and tends to cut through the front post through the front post. Error. The flower is late and the puck grabs Matthews from the back post. The puck takes over and spins quickly through the gaming device on the old-fashioned Columbus network.
The 40th hit of Auston Matthews’ season saw the light of day early Tuesday morning Finnish time.
While it was just one goal among others for a player to hit the NHL pitch at a pace no one else can, there was something special about it. It was only the 24-year-old American striker who broke the 40-goal limit for the fourth time in his short NHL career.
Yeah, and in those other two broken seasons, Matthews’ pace would have taken him to both goals in both.
However, Matthews ’goal pace has matured even historically hard over the last two seasons. Last season, Leafs sent in 52 matches, with 0.79 goals per match. The pace was the same as the best scorer of our time With Alexander Ovetshkin in the record season of this 65 hits.
Now Matthews has scored 40 goals in 53 matches.
To the beat of legends
Although Matthews is only 24 years old, his average goal per NHL career per match is already 0.62. Only for the past forty years have they been able to do better Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux mixed Pavel Bure. Behind are Ovetshkin, Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Teemu Selänne and other legends.
Matthews has all lunches above the 0.8 average in a single season. The pace is incredibly hard against the more organized manners and goalkeepers tuned to the top in today’s NHL. The last time the 0.8 average was reached in the period 1995-1996 by Mario Lemieux.
In Matthews ’case, the best is yet to be seen and heaven alone knows what readings he will reach at the legal point of his career. If Ovetshkin scored 65 hits at best, that and up to 70 goal limits must be considered realistic for Matthews if he stays healthy. So far, Matthews has only been able to play the intact season once, as a newcomer in 2016-2017.
Although Patrik Laine was supposed to be the biggest scorer of the summer 2016 booking ceremony, Matthews, who was booked for Toronto in front of Tampere, has risen to be clearly the best scorer in the puck universe, and the title doesn’t even cause any discussion of this title.
But what, then, makes Matthews, who got his puck in Arizona, the most dangerous scorer in the world?
First of all, it is about the top-tune and completely exceptional shooting skill with which goalkeepers are in distress. Matthews is an incredibly skilled shooter who is not only able to darken his firing intent or direction longer than others, but also to shoot from different positions with better quality than others.
From straight skating, close to the feet, distraction, right foot above, left foot above, straight from the feed, wrist, punch, close, far and so on.
Matthews has long done a tremendous amount of work to develop his goal-making skills and, along with his skill coach, has injected everything related to finishing into atoms during training sessions. A skill coach currently on the payroll of Maple Leafs Darryl Belfry has been working with Matthews for years on scoring.
The results are visible to everyone: Since entering the NHL in 2016, Matthews has scored at a tougher pace than any other player and absolutely the most (239) along with Ovetshkin.
Sure, Matthews has other helpers, which can be seen in the scoring game.
The best is just coming
Matthews is a large player who also grinds well near the edges and corners when needed, creating space and goals for himself and others. At the same time, however, the central striker is very digestible and electric in his movements, and his exceptional skill level allows him to operate even in cramped spaces.
And there’s nothing wrong with the shot itself, even though Matthews doesn’t have a Laine shot. The wrist shot leaves quickly, accurately and hard. Unpredictability is also a great strength of the Leafs star from a scoring standpoint. The goalkeepers have said that it is difficult to predict the shot of a Yankee center because there are no clear manners to predict the shot.
The situation is nightmarish for the Veskers, as it is not possible to wait for the shot to start in today’s world. If the goalkeeper only reacts to the shot, it is usually too late.
The characteristics of Matthews’ attack head are invariably top notch. The ability to find empty spaces or open them yourself is top notch and this is also reflected in the number of triggers. Matthews have scored more this time than ever, per goal 4.25 times per match. In nine matches, this has been shot at least eight times, at best eleven.
When such shooting numbers are combined with a hard level of personal skill, hard physics, thorough training, quality preparation, and a direct passion for scoring, something great can emerge. All that is certain is that Auston Matthews has turned every stone to be able to cheat NHL guards from night to night.
What is certain is that Matthews ’goal numbers are no coincidence. There is a lot of practice, thought work and analysis of successes and greens in the background.
Of course, in addition to these, you also need good players to play with. Mitch Marner in Toronto in particular has Matthews as the other half, both on and off the ice. The duo’s close friendship and frictionless chemistry can be seen on the field, where Marner, one of the league’s best players, is in a great way to support Matthews ’strengths and vice versa.
The best thing about Auston Matthews is that the young player has just scratched the surface – The best is yet to come.